Page 40 of One More Song

“Okay,” she says when she’s received the photo text. “That’s freaking adorable.”

“I know.” I let out a sigh. “I think we are getting serious.”

“And why does that make you sound so sad?”

I groan. “Mill, there are a thousand reasons why this all stresses me out.” Taking a sip of wine, I try to change the subject. “Tell me about the trip. Is the weather nice?”

Millie laughs. “I am so not talking to you about the weather. What’s really on your mind, girl? You wouldn’t have called unless something was stressing you out.”

I exhale, grateful for a friendship like ours. I may not have shared everything about myself with her, but she knows me well enough to know something is bothering me. “It’s Mitch, he’s pressing the Deb thing.”

“Why does it scare you so much?”

“Because Cadence is all I have in the world,” I admit. “I don’t want to lose her to Deb.”

Millie is silent for a moment and I know she is considering her words. “That’s kind of a lot of pressure to put on a kid, isn’t it?”

Shame floods my chest. Knowing immediately that Millie is right. It’s not fair to my daughter to demand so much of her. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

“I’m saying this in the kindest way possible, Em. But maybe the timing is right here, Ash entered your life the same time Deb entered Mitch’s. Maybe it’s a chance for everyone to move on a bit.”

“It’s not so simple, Millie. Mitch is an asshole.”

“People change, maybe it’s time for you to let him prove himself.”

It’s not that Iwant to argue with Millie, but it seems too good to be true to think that Mitch has really changed.

But I’ve changed, and I want Mitch to believe that about me.

Maybe I need to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“It would be a hell of a lot easier if he didn’t let her watchThe Walking Deadand fill her tummy with Sour Patch Kids.”

“Maybe you should let him have her tomorrow night, but set down some ground rules.”

Her advice makes sense, and maybe I am holding onto the reins too tightly.

“And it means another night with Ash,” Millie says.

I laugh. “Speaking of which, you planning any more threesomes I should know about?”

Millie laughs. “None in the works, but I’ll let you know.”

“You better,” I say, just as Cadence calls out that pizza is ready. “Okay, I gotta go, it’s dinnertime.”

“Love you, girl. And chin up. I mean, really, you’ve got nothing to complain about. One of the hottest rock stars in the world is sharing your bed.”

I hang up and head inside, appreciating her no-nonsense perspective. Millie is right of course - and as I walk into the house, I feel that sentiment now more than ever.

My daughter is beaming as Saint swings her in the air, Dusky’s setting up an easel for Pictionary, and Synn is pouring wine into glasses. Ash is putting on music and my heart surges with happiness.

Maybe everything happens for a reason.

Maybe my reason was this. Right here, right now.

Chapter Sixteen

Ash

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